Members of the Catalan parliament have signed a declaration of
independence from Spain but have agreed to suspend its implementation
pending talks with the Madrid government.

President Carles Puigdemont was the first to sign the Declaration of the
Representatives of Catalonia in the regional parliament in Barcelona.

The signing ceremony came a few hours after Mr Puigdemont addressed the
parliament, saying Catalans had earned the right to independence from
Spain after a referendum. Efforts by the Madrid authorities to suppress
the vote on October 1 failed as violence and brutality by military
police were peacefully defied with bravery and determination by millions
of Catalan voters. The result showed 90% in favour of independence.

The central government in Spain responded by saying it did not consider
the referendum or its results to be valid. It has also rejected the
declaration of independence, threatening to arrest Catalan leaders and
even hinting at their possible execution.

Mr Puigdemont said the landslide victory in the referendum gave his
government the grounds to implement its long desire to break with Spain.

However, he proposed the national parliament “suspend the effects of the
independence declaration to commence a dialogue, not only for reducing
tension but for reaching an accord on a solution to go forward with the
demands of the Catalan people”.

“We have to listen to the voices that have asked us to give a chance for
dialogue with the Spanish state,” Mr Puigdemont said, indicating it
could take a few weeks.

Such a move would help reduce political tensions and reach “an accord on
a solution to go forward with the demands of the Catalan people”, Mr
Puigdemont added.

Despite the state violence, Mr Puigdemont said Catalans have nothing
against Spain or Spaniards, and that they want to understand each other
better.

“We are not criminals, we are not crazy, we are not pulling off a coup,
we are not out of our minds. We are normal people who want to vote,” he
said.

In a critical speech that was delayed for about 90 minutes, Puigdemont
said that Catalans had long wanted to vote on statehood but were
thwarted by Spain.

“We tried for dialogue 18 times with the Spanish government, we tried to
have a referendum, just like the Scottish did. We tried to do it,” he
said.

There has been strong support from both Scotland and Ireland, although
the main conservative and unionist parties in both countries have
expressed opposition.

‘LEADERSHIP NEEDED’

Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams said leadership was “urgently needed” in the
crisis.

“Leadership from the Spanish state and leadership from the government of
Catalonia - but also critically from the international community,
especially the European Union,” he said.

A statement by the European Commission offered full support for the
Madrid government and “proportionate use of force”, which it said was
“necessary” to “uphold the rule of law”.

Mr Adams rejected this. “Any refusal by the international community to
get involved - hiding behind the argument that this is an internal
matter for Spain - puts at risk the possibility of reaching a peaceful
solution to this very complex situation,” he said.

He suggested that the Irish peace process could become a template for
Catalonia. He said that while no two disputes are the same, the broad
principles to address and resolve differences are “very similar” and “can
be adapted”.

“Twenty years after the Good Friday Agreement, we are still trying to
implement elements of that and subsequent agreements,” he said. “But,
critically, there is no conflict, and no suggestion that there will be a
return to conflict.”

‘DENIED FREEDOM’

But the 1916 Societies, which has criticised the Irish peace process,
described the events in Catalonia as “a reminder of our own situation in
Ireland”.

“The British government’s sovereign claim here denies the fundamental
right of our people to national self-determination,” it said.

“Catalonia and Ireland, as all nations and peoples, have a shared right
to peace, democracy and ultimately to freedom. We look forward to the
day, yet to come, where we both of us enter into the great commonwealth
of nations, standing together as free peoples before the world.

“To echo The 1916 Proclamation, it remains our right, shared with the
Catalans, to unfettered control of our nation and its destinies, a right
held by that same Proclamation to be sovereign and indefeasible. In both
Catalonia and Ireland, it remains the case.”

In a statement, the President of Republican Sinn Fein, Des Dalton
welcomed the “overwhelming vote” in Catalonia for independence.

“The Catalan people defied the brutality of the Spanish state and gave
witness to the world of their will for national sovereignty,” he said.

“The Spanish state attempted to subvert this national expression of the
Catalan people’s demand for national freedom with the approval of the
EU, illustrating once again that the EU is a bastion of the old
imperialist states.

“The 26-County Administration shamefully also lent its support to the
Spanish state by declaring that it would refuse to recognise the
democratically expressed wishes of the Catalonian people.

“These are the same people who claim historic lineage from the First
Dail Eireann, which adopted Ireland’s Declaration of Independence on
January 21 1919 and sought recognition for the Irish Republic from the
other free nations of the world.

“A century later the 26-County State in contrast lines itself up
alongside the the old imperial powers of Europe in order to deny the
Catalonian people their right to nationhood. They have shamed themselves
and do not speak for the Irish people or their historical experience of
breaking the chains of colonial rule. They should be reminded of this
when they brazenly attempt to hijack the centenaries of the 1918 General
Election and the First Dail Eireann in next year and in 2019
respectively.”

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